'Hope for the Hurting' Fundraisers wrap up with Brush event

By Katie Collins Brush News-Tribune Staff Writer

Posted:
02/05/2013 04:24:14 PM MST

Updated:
02/05/2013 04:27:09 PM MST

Before the community crowds poured into the Caring Pregnancy Resource Center's final fundraising banquet of the season in Brush, Executive Director Jan Loesch (left) took time to pose with keynote speaker Shelly Donahue (right), the co-creator of the WAIT abstinence and education program who was humbly thrilled to be invited to present at the Center's banquets throughout Northeast Colorado in January. (Katie Collins/News-Tribune)

The Caring Pregnancy Resource Center of Northeast Colorado recently concluded a whirlwind series of fundraising banquets held in Yuma, Holyoke and Brush during the month of January where communities came out to support the center’s mission of encouraging communities to embrace healthy lifestyles and relationships. The finale event enticed many to make their way to the Morgan County Fairgrounds in Brush during a snowy Monday evening on January 28 where nationally known speaker, WAIT (Why Am I Tempted) program trainer and love and relationship educator Shelly Donahue served as keynote speaker, delving into topics from teen abstinence and relationships to family support and setting boundaries, during an eye-opening and educational program. “When dealing with ways in which to teach children to manage their sexual self-control,” noted Donahue, “I ask parents to think of a triangle. On one side we need to teach kids why they should wait and that includes six aspects or reasons including physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially, spiritually and financially,” continued Donahue, “because sex affects the whole person and the pocketbook.”“Teen sex is pricy and it will cost you in every bit of your life,” Donahue reiterated. “However love is priceless. We need to teach our kids to love by loving them.”On the other leg of the triangle of self-control, Donahue promotes ways in which kids can manage their emotions and manage their dating relationships.

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At the bottom of the triangle is ways to give support for abstinence by sharing family values and providing models. “I think all in all the communities in Northeast Colorado are very supportive of the center,” said Caring Pregnancy Resource Center Executive Director Jan Loesch as the series of fundraisers came to a conclusion in Brush. “They want what is best for their kids, and they want the kids to know the truth about what they are facing.”“I think a lot of parents are not aware of what kids face and when Shelly or I present,” continued Loesch. “It becomes a real eye opener.” Loesch, who consistently makes her way to area middle and high schools during educational and candid discussions with youth on everything from relationships, sex and abstinence to STDs during WAIT training, also has her pulse on the new day and age in which kids now live, saying, “We can no longer have our kids be haphazard in their sexual relationships. They have to ask the hard questions first. Nor can we awesome that just because we’ve grown up with someone we know them,” she continued. “We should still have our children ask the hard questions.”During the Brush banquet it was noted that the Center, which has a home in Brush at 214 Cameron Street, served a diverse clientele of 72 men and women with only four being minors. The center’s clients gave birth to 25 babies including four sets of twins in 2012. Each adult who came into the Center received a minimum of one hour of face-to-face counseling at no charge and the Center played an active part in educating youth regarding sexually transmitted diseases, informing students that there are over 19 million new STD infections reported every year and half occur in people between the ages of 15 and 25. In 2012 the Center performed a week of WAIT training, a public school curriculum with a focus on abstinence and healthy relationships, to students in three counties, four high schools, four middle schools totaling 2,751 students. The Center also reports having had a positive effect on teens and their relationship choices, with Morgan County alone experiencing a 38 percent reduction in teen pregnancies. The Center also offers P.A.C.E (Post Abortion Counseling Education), an 11-week Bible Study that aids women in the healing process of post abortion trauma. According to the Center, many women have reported that education regarding post abortion trauma was never offered to them in the course of their decision. The winter fundraisers have annually generated a great portion of the Center’s proceeds, aiding in their educational mission. If you or someone you know would like more information on services offered at the Caring Pregnancy Resource Center, call them at 842-4324, or log onto their webpage at http://neco-cpc.org.

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